Leesburg's fire union fights the elimination of four positions

If Leesburg city commissioners wrote a book, the title would be "Budgeting: A Mind-numbing Saga of Emotional Decisions to Spend Tax Dollars."

It wouldn't be a best seller, and for good reason. Listening to them trying to make a decision is like studying one of those Family Circus comic strips in which 7-year-old Billy gets sent, for example, to get the mail and bring it back into the house.

There's the footsteps showing that Billy walked out the door and plucked a flower off a bush, wandered in circles around the yard, chased the dog to the fence, climbed over it, jumped off a stump in the neighbor's yard, peeked into a knothole in a tree, veered accidentally by the mailbox and then started the circuitous journey back to the front door.

Leesburg commissioners on Monday night made a last-minute, emotion-driven decision to spend an extra $100,000 using much the same method of "logic." That's irresponsible.

Commissioners have been working since early summer to reduce the budget because Leesburg is facing the same problem all taxing agencies are staring down — the value of property in the city has dropped dramatically. Because taxes are levied on a tax rate — so much for each $1,000 of taxable value — the amount of tax money coming into every government is dropping like a rock out of a hot-air balloon.

Part of the plan to make the city's nearly $23 million general fund stay out of the red was to lay off four firefighters who had been hired with the caveat that they might not be kept past Thursday, the last day of the fiscal year. This sent the firefighter union into hyperwhine mode because three positions in addition had been cut.

A union representative who came to Monday's meeting played the hero-death card: "What happens when you respond to a fire one night and one of these guys dies?"

Such tactics are as irresponsible as commissioners caving into them.

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Let's look at the city's fire service for a moment.

Leesburg plans to spend about $5.8 million on fire service in the coming year. Compare that to Clermont, which serves more people and intends to lay out about $1 million less — $4.8 million for the year. To be fair, Leesburg does serve more area, 18.7 square miles to Clermont's 14.4. But an extra million for that difference? Ouch.

Leesburg maintains four stations — one downtown, one near Carver Middle School, one at the airport and the fourth in the unincorporated county in Okahumpka. The city opened that last one because of the building boom — Leesburg anticipated walloping growth south of town. Whoops. Tactical error.

When it didn't come, commissioners considered closing the station, but decided that it was needed to serve just a few thousand residents in the area. The four firefighter positions on the chopping block were part of the 12 hired for that station.

So, the city is in the position of having opened a facility and hired a dozen new firefighters for a station whose need is questionable at this point.

On Sunday, the city got hit by "the perfect storm," according to fire Chief Kevin Bowman, who has been with the city since January. Nine of 20 firefighters scheduled to work were on vacation or called in sick. The result was that the Okahumpka station wasn't staffed, and firefighters were deployed to other stations around the city.

The union leader declared at Monday night's meeting that the city budget was being "balanced on the backs of the firefighters." One firefighter stood up to warn that the Okahumpka station would have to be closed more and more often if commissioners didn't keep the firefighters. He also said response time was reduced to people who needed help. (That's not a contention his chief would confirm, let alone evaluate the significance of.)

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Let's pause here for just a moment.

Is it a coincidence that so many firefighters called in sick on Sunday, the day before commissioners were scheduled to make a decision on these jobs?

Bowman said he thought it was. The 48-year-old chief, who came from North Lauderdale, said he knew for certain at least one was ill. He remarked that it's not unusual for several firefighters to come down with the same illness when they all handle a patient who is sick.

Folks, forgive a suspicious nature. I grew up near Pittsburgh, the mecca for unions who pull off strong-arm stunts just as negotiation openers. You'll have to pardon me if I say that this appears to be a deliberate work slowdown designed to make a point.

Notice what's missing here? Facts. And the professional opinion of the fire chief about how many firefighters are needed and where they should be deployed. Not to mention cool heads.

Let's take a closer look on Wednesday.

Lauren Ritchie can be reached at Lritchie@orlandosentinel.com Her blog is online at http://www.orlandosentinel.com/laurenonlake You may leave her a message at 352-742-5918.